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tv   CBS Evening News With Scott Pelley  CBS  July 4, 2011 5:30pm-6:00pm PDT

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cbssf.com show: 5p >> pelley: tonight, a surprising new medical study. it links a popular anti-smoking drug to heart problems. dr. jon lapook examines the study and what it means. mandy clark one on one with the top u.s. commander in afghanistan on the future of the war and the decision to begin pulling out. the man accused of the worst war crimes in europe since the nazis shows nothing but contempt for justice. mark phillips has the pictures from the court. and on this fourth of july as the space shuttle program nears an end, jim axelrod asks "what happened to the flags on the moon?" >> it's beautiful. >> pelley: do those star spangled banners yet wave? captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley.
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>> pelley: good evening, chantix is the most popular anti-smoking drug on the market with annual sales of nearly $800 million. but a study out today raises new safety questions about it. chantix has already been linked to an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and now to a higher risk of heart disease. we asked dr. jon lapook to tell us what we need to know about these new findings. >> reporter: today's study is worrisome news for the more than seven million americans who have taken chantix. a new analysis links the pill to a 72% increase in the risk of heart problems. johns hopkins dr. sonal singh led the research. >> it is causing the same problems we are trying to prevent. that's why it's not worth the risk. we need to prevent cardiac disease among smokers, not increase it.
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>> reporter: the review combines 14 studies involving more than 8,000 patients. while a 72% increased risk sounds alarming, a companion editorial entitled "is it a heart breaker?" notice that heart problems are still rare, occurring in only about 1% of patients taking chantix. the drug maker, pfizer, questions the way the analysis was conducted. dr. gail cawkwell is vice president of medical affairs for pfizer. >> we will continue to do a more in-depth look as the f.d.a. is asking us to do. to date we have not seen evidence of important risks to the heart health of patients from chantix. >> reporter: in mid-june, the f.d.a. warned chantix might be linked to a small increase in heart problems in smokers who have heart disease. the agency tells cbs news that based on this new study, it will evaluate expanding that warning to include all smokers. that review could take a year. >> pelley: jon, i wonder, with these apparent risks does it make sense for doctors to prescribe chantix at all? >> reporter: scott, yes with an asterisk. smoking's horrible. it lowers your lifespan by ten years and if you stop by age 50 you can regain six of those years.
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so even if it turns out chantix increases heart risk a bit-- and i can't wait for the f.d.a. to complete their study-- it still might be worth the risk because the possible risk of having all of the side effects of smoking are... might be outweighed by taking a medication. now, that said, in my practice, i might decide to start with the other medications first, but if they fail, then say "here are the risks and benefits of chantix, let's give it a try." >> pelley: does chantix work better than other medications? >> scott, it does. work a little bit better. say about 21% to 23% a year. that's a little better than other things like bupropion and even biofeedback, other things like that, so it's tempting to try champ ticks first but until we know better whether this risk is real for me in my own practice i'm going to put it aside, try the other ones first, but i won't hesitate to use it if other medications work because it at the end of the day, there's nothing worse than smoking. >> pelley: thanks, jon. the outgoing u.s. commander in afghanistan said today the focus
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of the war is about to shift away from taliban strongholds in the south and to the eastern border with pakistan where al qaeda still operates. general david petraeus is retiring from the army later this month and will become the new director of the c.i.a. mandy clark spoke with him today in kabul about the way forward in afghanistan. >> reporter: the last days of general david petraeus's command have been marked by two major events: the president's decision to begin withdrawing u.s. forces and, days later, an audacious attack on one of kabul's most important hotels. general petraeus told us the assault should not be seen as a setback. do you really think that the afghan security forces are ready if they can't protect a major hotel in the capital? >> i can tell you that our special forces who were supporting-- not leading and not doing-- for the afghan forces, who saw the crisis response
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unit, said that they responded very courageously. in fact, that they took the loss of life with the wounded in action i think underscores that fact. >> reporter: but the training of afghan forces is uneven at best. witnesses at the hotel told us some afghan police ran away from the suicide assault. time for training afghan forces will soon be running out. president obama plans to withdraw about one-third of u.s. forces in little more than a year. it's no secret that you wanted a slower drawdown than what was announced by the obama administration. do you feel like you have enough troops to do the job? >> look, first of all, i think it's probably time to stop second guessing the decision that only the president can make. only he has the full range of issues and considerations that he has to deal with. and that decision has been made, and it's now the job of military commanders and troopers to get on with it. >> reporter: the general was on
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a tour of coalition bases today, swearing in troops signing up for another tour. these july 4 reenlistment ceremonies have become a tradition with general petraeus since 2003 when he was commander in iraq, but this year it's especially poignant because he himself is leaving the military. is it an emotional day for you? >> actually it is, yeah. there's nowhere i'd rather celebrate this independence day, but the recognition that it's my last in military uniform is a bit emotional. >> reporter: for all the talk of drawing down, there's still 100,000 u.s. troops on the ground here. some of them had a brief holiday today, but they know the fighting season is heating up. and most of them aren't going anywhere soon. general petraeus was eager to emphasize that when the u.s. drawdown of 33,000 troops is completed in 15 month's time, the afghan forces should have grown by 70,000. the question is whether those numbers will add up to an afghan security force that's ready to
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take control of this country. >> pelley: mandy, i know you had a chance to talk to general petraeus about his new job as director of c.i.a. what did he tell you about how he intends to lead the agency? >> reporter: he stressed the c.i.a. would remain focused on routing out al qaeda, and he also addressed reports that pakistani intelligence still had links to a major terror network here. he said that it's hardly surprising there's still a connection, because they date back to the anti-soviet campaign. he did paint a picture of a pakistani leadership that now takes the threat seriously, and he knows all those players well. >> pelley: thank you, mandy. the u.s. coast guard has joined mexico's navy in the search for seven americans and one mexican missing at sea off baja california. they were on a chartered fishing boat that capsized early yesterday when it was hit by two giant waves. the body of one american was recovered. 19 other americans survived along with 16 mexican crewmen.
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some reportedly swam two miles to shore. in montana, they are cleaning up from an oil spill. a pipeline ruptured along the yellowstone river. the riverbanks are black after 40,000 gallons of crude poured into the river on friday. exxon mobil says spring floods caused the rupture when the water washed the river bottom away and exposed the pipeline to fast-moving debris. tomorrow, congress returns from a holiday break. there has been no apparent progress on negotiations to prevent the country from going into default on its debts, which could be an economic calamity. the white house and congress must come up with a compromise well before august 2. with so much at stake, we've asked congressional correspondent nancy cordes and political analyst john dickerson to join us. nancy, let me start with you. with all the complexity involved it seems like time is running out. what are you hearing about a compromise there? >> well, scott, democrats and
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republicans are just as far apart as they ever have been on this issue with republicans insisting tax increases cannot be part of the deal. democrats saying they can't get to $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction-- which is what the republicans want-- without tax increases. and so we're now starting to hear some talk about a mini deal. that's where democrats and republicans would agree to the one trillion or so in cuts that negotiators have already agreed to, and increase the debt limit to get the country through about another six or eight months, and then democrats and republicans would go back and try to tackle some of these thorny issues like tax reform and entitlement reform that they think could cause more savings in the long run. >> pelley: john, that sounds like kicking the can down the road. what does the white house say about that? >> the white house does not want to kick that can down the road, because what they worry is that they lose leverage in a mini deal. they have to essentially agree to a trillion dollars in spending cuts, but they get none of the tax increases that they want. they only think republicans will
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agree to those tax increases under the pressure of this deadline and if they agree to a big $4 trillion deal large enough that they would be able to agree to those tax increases. the problem for the white house is the clock is ticking and time's running out. >> pelley: nancy, is there anything on the books in terms of meetings with the president and the house and senate leadership? >> there's nothing right now, scott. in fact, all you hear is a lot of heat going back and forth. the president saying congress needs to get to work, republicans saying, "we're working. if you want to meet with us, come on down to capitol hill and meet with us." the senate has canceled its entire fourth of july recess. they were supposed to be gone all this week. instead they're going to be here starting tomorrow, but it's very unclear what they're going to be doing, because the president doesn't actually have any meetings scheduled with the top republican negotiators. >> pelley: of course, on this july 4 it's a day for parades, and we saw a lot of presidential candidates in parades today. there was mitt romney in new hampshire. we saw michele bachmann in iowa.
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and i wonder, john, if i asked you who's ahead in the money and who's ahead in the polls, what would you say about the republican race right now? >> it's the same answer for both. mitt romney. in the money race, he's well ahead of his opponents. although he hasn't released his fund-raising total for the last quarter, everybody expects him to be way ahead of the field. it's not exactly the same picture in the polls. romney is ahead, but in some states like iowa he's tied neck in neck with michele bachmann and even in the polls where he's ahead, his support is soft-- people telling pollsters they could change their mind. >> and, scott, i'd add that here on capitol hill there's been some surprise that the amount of energy and enthusiasm, representative michele bachmann has been able to generate on the campaign trail. you mentioned she was in iowa on this fourth of july, that's a very important state for her. even president clinton said this weekend "i don't agree with anything she says, but she's got a lot of juice." >> pelley: nancy, john, thank you very much. the man accused of the worst war crimes in europe since world war
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ii got himself thrown out of court today. another woman is accusing dominique strauss-kahn of sexual assault. and they boldly went where no men had gone before, but what became of the flags they left behind? when the "cbs evening news" continues. aily dose. new citracal slow release... continuously releases calcium plus d for the efficient absorption my body needs. citracal. so i wasn't playing much of a role in my own life, but with advair, i'm breathing better so now i can take the lead on a science adventure. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator, working together to help improve your lung function all day.
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another accusation of sexual assault against the former head of the i.m.f. michelle miller tells us this time his accuser is in his native france. >> reporter: french novelist tristane banon says it's a burden she's carried for eight years, and now her attorney, david koubbi, says she's ready to file a civil complaint against dominique strauss-kahn. "the facts date back to the start of 2003" he says. "facts are of an extreme gravity. there was an extreme violence which was particularly remarkable in this type of case." banon claims strauss-kahn tried to rape her during an interview in a paris apartment when he was finance minister. meanwhile, the case against him here in the u.s. is collapsing. on friday, strauss-kahn was freed from house arrest after the credibility of his accuser was thrown into question. manhattan district attorney cyrus vance said the hotel maid lied about events immediately following the alleged assault on may 14. sources tell cbs news
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investigators also obtained a recorded phone call to her boyfriend in an arizona prison in which she said that she could potentially cash in on the case. all of this raises serious issues, says former sex crimes prosecutor robin saks. >> she lied about the events, she lied to the investigators and she potentially lied under oath to the grand jury. when you have lies that are specifically about a case, there is no recovering from that. it's case over, day over, good- bye, good night. >> reporter: the district attorney's office and police are facing criticism over how the case was handled from the very start. >> it appears that what happened was that this was a rush to judgment. they did not want a roman polanski situation where he was going to go run off in france and possibly never return to the united states. but they chose speed and they chose sloppy work over precise interviewing, and these were the consequences. >> reporter: for now, strauss- kahn must remain in the u.s., at least until his next court date on july 18. new polls suggest the french are
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divided over whether strauss- kahn-- once a leading contender to be president of france-- has a future in politics. michelle miller, cbs news, new york. >> pelley: as we celebrate america's independence from britain, we thought we'd check in with some of the royal family. the duke and duchess of cambridge are touring canada. they visited prince edward island today. prince william-- a search-and- rescue pilot-- practiced water landings in a rescue helicopter. the newlyweds also competed against each other in a boat race-- william's boat won. you might think facing a war crimes tribunal would be a sobering experience, but ratko mladic quickly turned the hearing into a courtroom farce. that's next. that's next. acing the day with less chronic low back pain. imagine living your life with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is a non-narcotic treatment that's fda-approved
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>> pelley: former bosnian serb commander ratko mladic went before a u.n. war crimes tribunal today. mark phillips tells us that the man accused of the worst atrocities in europe since the nazis seemed to have nothing but contempt for the court. >> reporter: the judges had barely arrived when ratko mladic showed that he still prefers to give, not take, orders. told not to play to the gallery, he taunted the families of victims of the bosnian war by dramatically doffing his cap at them. the court soon tired of his theatrics and his cap. >> could mr. mladic be assisted in taking off his cap? >> reporter: when the charges were read out, the drama turned
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from bad humor to ugly. >> mr. mladic, you're charged with genocide. >> reporter: mladic is accused of ordering the massacre of 8,000 men and boys in the supposed safe haven of srebrenica after they were separated from the women and assured of their safety, and of the deliberate shelling of civilians during the 43-month siege of sarajevo, among other crimes. but mladic refused to listen. he had threatened not to show up at all. instead, his tactic was to disrupt. the judge, like an exasperated baseball umpire, threw mladic out. >> the court orders that you be removed from the courtroom. >> reporter: the court entered a not guilty plea. with or without ratko mladic, the judges are determined that this trial will continue. mark phillips, cbs news, london. >> pelley: president hugo chavez is back in venezuela.
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he flew in today from cuba, where he had cancer surgery, and later he appeared before thousands at the preside tomorrow is venezuela's bicentennial, and chavez didn't want to miss it. no flags have ever been raised as high, but what happened to the flags the astronauts took to the moon? that story is next. meet beth, nursery school teacher. lights, camera, activia it's the best job in the world. my students are amazing. but to be there for them, you've gotta feel your best. kids can tell. that's why i love eating activia light every day. so delicious activia light helps me feel good inside. which helps me be my best... positive, cheerful and on top of things. help regulate your digestive system. love how you feel or your money back. ♪ activia we look out for patients by offering care 1 on 1. we help them save money with generic prescriptions. we talk to them about prescription safety and -- help them save money.
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so quick, that i think anybody, >> pelley: on this fourth of july, we got to thinking about iconic american flags-- the flag the marines raised at iwo jima, the one firefighters put up at ground zero, the one that flew over fort mchenry, the inspiration for what would become our national anthem. and as the space shuttle program comes to an end later this week, we were most curious about the flags the astronauts left behind during six trips to the moon. what's become of them? we asked jim axelrod to find out. >> they've got the flag up now and you can see the stars and stripes. >> reporter: when neil armstrong and buzz aldrin planted the first flag on the moon, it was an act of pure symbolism. a united nations treaty would not allow the u.s. or any other country to claim the moon as its territory. >> this is a very schematic diorama of what the apollo 11 site would have looked like.
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>> reporter: smithsonian curator says the flags planted by all the crews of the apollo missions that landed on the moon were goodwill gestures to the world. >> by and large, the symbol was very much understood for what it was, a symbol of pride but also a symbol of humanitarian accomplishment. >> reporter: but, as tom moser knows, it was also a politically sensitive symbol. an engineer on the nasa team that designed the first flag to go to the moon, moser was told to keep it hush-hush. >> it was not a military department of defense secret, it was just politically we didn't want the word out before the event happened. >> reporter: from the beginning, there were technical problems. the apollo 11 astronauts had difficulty getting the pole deep enough into the lunar soil, and they had trouble extending the full apparatus designed to keep the flag upright and outstretched in a place where there is never any wind. >> the wave is a product of what? >> of it being bunched up and not being pulled out tight.
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>> reporter: that's what happened? it got bunched? >> exactly. >> reporter: the minor malfunction made for an even better effect, the sense that old glory was waving in the breeze. the flags waving behind are now among the most defining images of our time, but what happened to them is a question university of california santa barbara librarian annie platoff has been trying to answer. >> theoretically there are six flags still on the moon. >> reporter: her research can account for four of the six, including this one. >> that's beautiful. >> reporter: planted by apollo 17. she believes the first two, from apollo 11 and 12, did not survive the ignition gases of the lunar liftoff. >> it wasn't the intention for the flag material itself to last. it was just to be there during the event. we didn't have a requirement that the flag had to withstand all the environments for eons. >> reporter: made from nylon
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just like the ones at a dime store, though ordered off the shelf from a government supply catalog, platoff's theory is they're probably darkened and maybe more than a bit tattered. >> i would guess over time-- 40 years-- a combination of sun rot and micrometeorite impacts has probably been devastating. it's not a pretty picture to paint. the only way you're going to test these theories would go b to go back at the moon and look at the flags. >> reporter: with so of the space program coming to an end, it's not likely american astronauts will be the ones to discover whether after the rocket's red glare, our flag is still there. >> come on out here and give me a salute. >> reporter: jim axelrod, cbs news, washington. >> pelley: forever in space may they wave. that's the "cbs evening news" this fourth of july, for all of us at cbs news all around the world, good night. captioning sponsored by cbs captioned by
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tragic. bay area tourists swept out to sea, when their boat capsizes off baja. the desperate search, and what could make it hard for survivors to get home. "...i went over to this house & knocked on the door. he didn't know his house was on fire" flames tear through 2 east bay homes.. the family drama one woman believes may have sparked it. and surprise relief for hundreds of thousands of people with risky mortgages. the sudden change of heart, that may let them keep their homes. good evening, i'm dana king i'm allen martin. they could be lost at sea forever. tonight rescue teams are considering calling off the search for several bay area tourists, missing after a chartered fishing boat capsized.

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